


Back In October

by Buttered_Toast



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Gen, dealing with grief
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-19 02:56:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29743926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Buttered_Toast/pseuds/Buttered_Toast
Summary: If she keeps kicking she can keep her head afloat , that's all she needs to convince everyone she is okay. That she isn't the sad little orphan girl who has also just lost her brother. If she keeps kicking, she can keep talking to the handsome blonde stranger, even if he has a silly name and is a dork. But since Pietro she is struggling to keep her legs moving; Sam says this is grief, and she is grieving, but if she is grieving why does she feel so guilty.Wanda meets Vision and is struggling to let herself move on and enjoy her life, because if he brother doesn't get to live, why should she enjoy being the only Maximoff standing.
Relationships: Clint Barton/Laura Barton, Wanda Maximoff/Vision
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	Back In October

**Author's Note:**

> TW: general sad tone, mentions of blood and blood donation and smoking.

The clinic was set up in an old church hall. It was cold and the clinical equipment clashed with the bright mismatched community art; it reminded Wanda of Pietro, annoying, loud and didn't make sense. The participants waiting to give blood were all crowded into a side room with a cup of orange dilute squash. Surely they didn't intend for her to drink the whole pint? She’d wet herself before the nurse could get the needle into her arm. 

Waiting for the blood and tissue nurse to call her name, Wanda strained her eyes to read the horoscopes pinned on the wall, the funky font sat below the wacky crude drawing of the star sign. 

_‘Capricorn January 20- February 16_   
_Venus says you're normally super close with your friends and family, but there is something missing and now there is some distance. Instead of running away, confront the problem head on you might be surprised. The moon says you need to binge for some self love, be it Netflix or ice cream. **FOR MORE READINGS CONTACT AGNES H.**_

Fair enough. You didn't have to be a Capricorn to love a Netflix and junk food binge. It felt like all Wanda had been doing lately was being cocooned in bed watching nothing of importance on Netflix. If she was honest in the space of a handful of weeks her life had taken a handbrake turn, into the realm of being nothing important. Whatever, horoscopes were bullshit since when did the stars care about what happened to her.

Pietro loved horoscopes, he loved to pick them apart and mock those that believed everything was written in the stars. How childish did you have to be to think your whole life was mapped out in the inky black night sky. Wanda’s heart gave a fond tug at the memory of her mother reading out everyone's horoscope from the back of a Sokovian gossip magazine.

Before the lump in her throat could sink into a heavy weight in her chest Wanda was torn from her thoughts by the guy sitting next to her.

“Did you know that horoscopes originated from Babylon'' he says with an accent so thick it felt hypnotic. Wanda would be lying if she said this guy wasn’t the best looking person she had ever seen, the British accent didn't hurt either. 

Wanda spits out a random star sign in the attempt to stop her tongue from feeling so heavy and for her eye to stop starring. Blonde hair, blue eyes and way out of her league, but that didn't stop her from being interested. 

No wonder Darcy donated blood regularly, but then again she could make a pick up spot out of a garbage dump.

“I am Leo myself” his voice tapering off towards the end. His knee was bouncing, his fingers rolling the tip of the patient information form into a tight scroll. Clearly, the hot stranger was nervous, yeah that was it, why would he tell a complete stranger the origins of star signs. A nervous tick, the whole room was full of people biting nails, playing with their hair and tapping their fingers off of the plastic juice cups.

“What are you here for?” the stranger nodding her head towards the door where you could just see a middle aged man wipe down the slick plastic covering of the donation chairs.

“Oh, you know, I had the urge to donate my left kidney” Wanda jokes, enjoying the way the stranger's eyes crinkled at the sides.

“I mean, I was asking if it were blood or platelets kind of girl , but wow how very generous for you to whip out a kidney in the church hall” his voice was soft. He didn't need to laugh boisterously like Clint would have, the humour was clear on his face it lessened the nervous twist that was there a moment ago. 

“Careful they don't take yours while you are in the chair” Wanda replied back with a smile and a wink. 

  
Since when did she wink at strangers. Hot strangers in some dingy church hall waiting to donate blood. She must come across so creepy right now winking and talking about organ snatching. This is why she is single, among other things. But he didn’t seem put off, instead let out a laugh. Before either of them could reply Wanda’s name was called and she shot up like she had been zapped.

“It was nice talking to you Ms Maximoff” the British accent caressed her name and she wanted to turn around to reply. 

“Wanda Maximoff?” the nurse called again and Wanda did an awkward wave like she was a child in school responding to the register. 

The high she was riding from the encounter numbed the pinch of the blood pressure cuff and the sharp stab of the needle in her arm. She felt happy and light which was a pleasant change of pace compared to the last month. But then her eyes caught sight of the blood collection bag on the rotating shelf. Slowly filling with a dark all consuming liquid and her thoughts jumped straight to Pietro, sucking away the good and replacing it with a heavy feeling. She was back to trying to keep her head above the water again.

Pietro would have laughed his arse off if he knew Wanda flirted with a solid 10 while clutching the given blood leaflet discussing organ snatching. Pietro laughed his arse off at pretty much everything Wanda did, three minutes older and he had taken his mocking older brother role seriously. 

  
Afterwards, Wanda stands by the bus stop and lights up a smoke. She’s far enough from the church, a good three minute walk— she figures he can get away with it. No one’s around, anyway; it’s too cold for that. Wanda’s nose already bitten red, her fingers numb.   
  
“You know, those contribute to one in five deaths annually,” someone says, Wanda turns to tell them to mind their own business when she looks up and sees the attractive blonde stranger from the donation centre. The shells of his ears are red but his face looks paler than before. He looks less stressed now that he’s out of the church, despite being very washed out.

“More die in car accidents,” Wanda greets, stubbing the cigarette out as she speaks. 

  
“I s’pose,” he says. Wanda wonders if he’s off to work now or home to his wife. Wonders where he’s from and how he wound up in New York. “How long have you been doing this?”

  
Wanda blinks blankly. “What, smoking?” she asks, not in the mood for a stop smoking lecture, even if it's off of a hot brit.

  
“No, I meant donating blood,” he says, but gently, like he’s trying not to upset or embarrass Wanda. “Was it your first time?”

  
“Oh, yeah, that was my first time,” she admits. “Someone I know needed blood and there is a shortage you know”

  
“Yeah?” he asks, and Wanda can tell it’s not just to be polite. “Your friend get the blood they needed”

  
“No,” Wanda says, and she doesn’t expand on that because she can’t yet. She’s careful not to let the wave of sadness choke her up in front him, and wonders if the guy even notices the moisture build up in her eyes.

  
“Well, you’re good at it,” he tells her, and Wanda snorts out a laugh and rolls her eyes. The sadness gone temporarily 

  
“Yeah, real difficult,” Wanda agrees sarcastically, and then wonders why she’s being such an asshole for no reason. “Drink a glass of juice, let them stick a needle in me and get a cookie, super hard.”

  
“I’m serious, Ms Maximoff, I find the whole process very nerve wracking”.

  
“Wanda,” she corrects, and he looks confused.

  
“Excuse me?”

“My name,” Wanda tells him.

“Vision,” the blonde guy says. Wanda raises her eyebrows at the name, but he is British, they have weird names over there don't they. Like Dick and Archibald.  
The hiss of a bottle opening pulls her away from her thoughts of boys names. She eyes the fizzy drink, she knows he was probably advised to drink it after the donation, but she can’t help herself. 

“The sugar in that will kill you”

“No more than a car accident” he replies cheekily and her face lights up. She wants to reply with something witty but suddenly she is at a loss on what to say. If this had been months ago she would have maybe asked for his number, filled with sokovian fire and confidence. But that fire is gone, it's not even smouldering and she hasn't learnt how to live without that fire just yet. So she just looks up at his face and looks away again when it starts to feel intrusive and the icky feeling of selfishness fills her stomach. 

“Well,” Vision starts when his bus starts to pull up, “it's been lovely speaking with you Ms Maximoff”

“Wanda” she corrects him, but he has a small glint in his eye like he intended for her to correct him. He just gives her a wave from his seat on the bus and she returns a small smile. She stands in the cold, thinking of all the things she might have said had things been different, willing her bus to come quicker.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is actually complete I will be publishing the chapters over the next few days. I just can't cope with how heart broken episode 8 left me and I just wanted to write a fluffy cute Wanda/vision but I also now think grief is such a big part of Wanda's character I have tried to incorporate both. I am so scared that next week is not gonna end well so this is my escape and please let me know what you think! Would 10/10 appreciate it.


End file.
